Simply Waiting
by Settiai
Summary: It started with an explosion. Admittedly, that can be said about most of their adventures.


Trip paused in the doorway of the mess hall, scanning the room until he finally saw two familiar faces sitting at a table near the back. His ever worsening headache made it difficult to focus, and it took longer than he would have liked to find them.

Shaking his head, he made his way through the crowded room and dropped down in a chair across from Malcolm and Hoshi. He barely stifled a groan as a sharp pain shot up his spine, but he still managed to give them a tired smile. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Most people would ask before they sat down," Malcolm said dryly. His eyes were laughing despite his tone.

Hoshi rolled her eyes and elbowed Malcolm, who merely raised an eyebrow. "Play nice," she muttered, prompting an amused chuckle from Trip.

"Hoshi, are you trying to defend my honor?" Trip asked, his mouth twisting into a weak grin.

She laughed. "Hardly," she said, her eyes twinkling. "I'm just tired of sitting on a ship that's dead in space."

Even though he knew she was teasing, Trip couldn't help but flinch. "We're trying to fix the problem," he protested, his smile fading. "It's just taking a little longer than we expected."

Hoshi's own smile faded as well. "I didn't mean anything by it, Trip."

Trip reached up to rub his eyes with a sigh. They felt gritty and sore, almost as if they were burning. "Sorry, Hoshi," he said, not meeting her gaze. "It's just been a long day. Most of the people I've talked with _have_ meant something by it."

Someone pressed a hot cup of coffee into his hands, and Trip looked up. He shot Malcolm a grateful look, slightly surprised that he hadn't noticed the other man leave the table, walk across the room, and come back. Then he took a long swallow, grinning from behind the cup when he realized that Malcolm had put just the right amount of sugar in it. "Marry me?"

"You're not my type," Malcolm shot back, deadpan. "I prefer brunettes."

Hoshi frowned at both of them. "Don't tell me people are blaming you for the explosion," Hoshi said, cutting off their banter. "No one had any idea that those parts were faulty."

Trip didn't answer.

Malcolm and Hoshi exchanged a look. "I know you have to be exhausted," Malcolm said. "Why don't you sit here, and I'll go get you some food. Maybe some more coffee?"

Shaking his head, Trip pushed his chair away from the table. "I really don't have time," he replied. "I'm not even sure why I'm here. I should have just gone back to my quarters and tried to catch a quick shuteye so that the captain will-" He trailed off, a guilty look on his face.

"Let you back into the engine room?" Hoshi guessed. She pushed her own chair back, standing up and making her way to Trip's side before he even realized what she was doing.

Trip let out a sheepish chuckle. "Pretty much," he admitted.

He accepted the hand Hoshi offered him without complaint, letting her help him to his feet. His back protested again, as did his aching head, and for just a second he regretted not listening to the captain hours earlier when Archer had first suggested that he take a break. It quickly faded. He didn't even want to think about how far behind the repairs would be if he hadn't kept working.

"Just how long have you been down in the engine room?" Malcolm asked suspiciously.

Trip's attention snapped back to the present, and he realized that he hadn't let go of Hoshi's hand. He quickly let go and shot her a sheepish grin. Then he blinked a few times, trying to get his vision to stop blurring slightly at the edges, before glancing over at Malcolm. "Since the explosion."

Beside him, Hoshi made a startled sound. "That was almost three days ago."

"It was?" Trip asked, blinking blearily. He guessed that would explain why his head was killing him.

Malcolm rolled his eyes as he stood up, but Trip could see a hint of worry on his face. "For once, listen when someone gives you advice," Malcolm said. "Go back to your quarters and get some sleep."

Trip smiled tiredly back at him. "Careful, keep up with that and someone might think you cared."

Hoshi just shook her head as Malcolm chuckled. Trip sat his cup of coffee down on the table and nodded at both of them. The simple movement made his vision swim, and he had to reach out to grab the edge of the table.

"Trip?" Hoshi asked worriedly.

He hurriedly let his grip on the table drop and waved his hand at her. "I'm fine," he said, purposely ignoring the suspicious looks being aimed at him. "I probably just need to get some sleep."

"That's a given," Malcolm said, eyeing him.

Hoshi nodded, her own gaze focused on him as well. "Do you need one of us to walk back to your quarters with you?"

Trip snorted. "Don't worry, Mom," he shot back, shoot her what he hoped was a reassuring grin, "I can walk myself home."

He turned away from them and started toward the door, focusing on just putting one foot in front of the other. Trip hadn't realized just how exhausted he was until he had taken the time to rest, even if it had been only for a few minutes, and his fatigue was quickly making itself known. His vision was blurring even more than it had been, and he could feel his concentration starting to slip.

As his knees suddenly buckled, he thought that he heard someone call his name. Then the world faded to black.

* * *

The first thing Trip was aware of was the sound of quiet footsteps nearby, like someone was trying to be as quiet as possible but not quite succeeding. Someone whispered something, just soft enough that he couldn't make it out, and then there was a flutter of movement right beside him. "Trip?"

He recognized Hoshi's voice instantly, even though her relieved tone surprised him. She sounded almost worried. Frowning slightly, he struggled to open his eyes. They felt heavy at first, but he managed to get them cracked after several tries.

Hoshi was hovering over him, and there was no mistaking the concerned look on her face. "He's waking up," she called out, glancing back over her shoulder for a second before turning her attention back toward him. "How are you feeling?

Trip tried to reply, but his dry throat protested and sent him off into a coughing fit. "Like hell," he finally managed to choke out. He gratefully took the cup of water she handed him, taking a small swallow from it. "What happened?"

"That's what I would like to know."

Phlox suddenly appeared beside Hoshi, a surprisingly serious look on his face. "Tell me, commander, how could you possibly think it would be a good idea to go almost seventy-two hours without sleep?"

Memories flooded back, and Trip had the good grace to look sheepish. After a few seconds passed without any spoken response, Phlox sighed and shook his head. He turned and walked away, muttering under his breath.

"You had him worried," Hoshi said gently.

Trip look over at her in surprise. He'd almost forgotten that she was there. "Worried?" he asked incredulously. "Just because I passed out for a little while?"

"A little while?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Try a day."

"A what?" Trip asked, sitting straight up without thinking. The world spun a little, and he quickly leaned back so that his head was resting against the wall. "I've been out for a whole day?"

Hoshi nodded, an unreadable expression on her face. "Close to it."

Trip groaned and pulled away from the wall, getting ready to push himself out of bed. "I need to get back to the engine room."

"Trust me," Hoshi hissed, "unless you want Phlox to put you back to sleep, you don't want to even think that." She quickly put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down onto the bed again, pulling away just as Phlox reappeared with a suspicious look on his face.

One look at Phlox's face was all the prompting Trip needed. He quickly held up his hands in a placating manner. "I'm not going anywhere."

Phlox shook his head as he made his way over to the bed. "A team of your engineers is working on the problem, and the captain expects them to be finished any time now," he said pointedly. "I have already informed him that you will not be leaving sickbay until I say you can, and he agrees."

Trip sighed. "In other words, shut up and don't argue."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Phlox's stern expression lightened a bit. "Commander, get some rest. That's an order."

"Whatever you said, doc," Trip said, reaching up and giving him a half-hearted salute. "You're the boss."

Hoshi let out a soft laugh. Phlox just shook his head in amused exasperation before turning and walking away. After a few seconds, she reached down and gently tousled Trip's hair. "You shouldn't tease him like that," she said. Then she froze, a startled look on her face as she yanked her hand away. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Trip looked up at her with a tired smile. "It's fine, Hoshi."

She shot him a flustered look. "I should go tell Malcolm that you're awake. He was worried."

Trip snorted. "You mean he was starting to make Sleeping Beauty references."

"No," Hoshi said matter-of-factly. "I mean he was worried. We all were."

Trip opened his mouth. Then he took a good look at her face and closed it without saying a word. He gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry?"

Rolling her eyes, Hoshi reached out and swatted him lightly on the arm. "You better be," she said lightly. "Now, go back to sleep. You look like you're still exhausted."

He started to argue, but he didn't even manage a whole word before his argument was cut off by a large yawn. Hoshi quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe you're right," Trip agreed. He reluctantly slid back down on the bed, his eyes already feeling heavy again.

Hoshi rested her hand on his shoulder for a few seconds. "Get some rest, Sleeping Beauty. I'll go let Malcolm know that the spell's been broken."

"I hate you," Trip grumbled, his voice light.

She just laughed and leaned down to press a quick kiss on his forehead.


End file.
